Help! 2 Chickens died today. What to do?

It certainly will not hurt to dust the birds and coop with Sevin and or food-grade diatomaceous earth. In fact the easiest way to begin is to give the birds sand in a wooden box with the Sevn and/or DE,in the coop, and let them dust themselves.

Meanwhile you need to go to the Home page on this site and begin to study what to examine on the birds. If you still have the carcasses, put them on some newspaper in a well-lighted place, preferably not in your house, and examine the vents,m under the winds and generally for any sign of discharge, especially around the beak nares.

It also will not hurt to dust the bodies with Sevin or Dri-Kill to kill any pest that might be there.

If you see anything crawling, or especially if you see waxy clusters of egg-like things near the vents, suspect parasites like mites, lice or ticks. Mites and lice are very troublesome indoors at this time of year and can be brought inside off plants by free-ranging birds. Any one of us could get them because they are so small and love to hide in cracks and crevices especially around roosts and come out at night and drain blood from the birds. A serious infestation can kill a bird in 2-3 days. It might be safer to assume these are in the coop and go ahead and treat it. While doing all this, pay scrupulous attention to your boots and coop clothing. Assume you might carry some in or out of the coop. Sprinkle DE, Dri-Kill and or Sevin wherever you walk into the coop, dust your boots liberally if you feel the need. Wash your utility clothing as much as possible.

Get no-pest strips for house and coop.

Double check your ventilation and any possible access rodents or other pests might get.

You're probably itching by now? I am. Is there anyone experience in poultry you can call? Remember, do not bring caracsses or diseased birds to their property!

There are so many things this could be. Any details or photos you can provide would assist the very experienced poultry owners here...so sorry it's hard for you now.
 
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I hope I do not insult you, but did you check over the dead chickens very well? Did you inspect the vent area?

I ask because I almost lost 2 pullets who had soft shelled eggs stuck - one had half a collapsed soft shell poking out, and the other had egg white around her vent area. I had to pull out the eggs from both of them.

A stuck soft shell can kill them because it completely blocks the vent. I have 20 pullets and all are about the same age as yours. It's difficult to watch each and everyone of them every minute of the day when you have as many as you do. Unfortunately, they do not start acting ill until it's pretty bad - and I could see that one could die before you realize what's going on.

This may or may not have been your issue - and if you inspected the vent area and it was clean, then it most likely was not. Just thought I'd mention it in case it helps.

Penny
 
Thanks for all the help.

What does it mean when the chickens have lost their feathers around the vent?

my husband has said a few of the chickens are bald in a ring around the vent.

???
Of course today with the holiday we are having a hard time finding somewhere open to get anymore advice, or Sevin dust.
 
Check for blood in the poop! If so : Coccidiosis! I was fortunate to acquire it from a breeder this year. Some of her birds did not last 2 days they were so far along. Many had lost feathers around the vent. Sulfamet for cure and medicated feed. Egg withdrawals.
 
It sounds like mites or lice, any waxy egg-like 'gleet'? Call another poultry owner and ask to borrow some Sevin or Dri-Kill which you can replace for them after the holiday. Or phone a vet- you can lose birds so fast, and I am so sorry this has happened when you can't get to an outlet...please let us know.
 
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Is your coop heated? It has been awfully cold lately, and some breds of chicken are not as tough as some like to think. can they stay warm enough at night? Drafts? Do you have a cheap themometer that youcan put out there to check at night and get some accurate info with?

If you cant find signs of an illness, I would start looking at environment....

Good Luck! Our thoughts are with you.
 
describe the droppings..color and consistency..

do they have access to compost pile, or any lawn/garden chemicals?
motor oils?

what all do you feed?

check the feed for mold..
 

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